A DRAGONS’ Den winner has been jailed for two years for blackmail after giving a former assistant a bad reference to block a job offer.
Equestrian designer Nicola Fletcher, 49, took revenge on Lorraine Davies for refusing to pay £6,000 for a favorable assessment.
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Nicola Fletcher was jailed for two years for blackmail after giving a former assistant a bad reference to block a job offer Credit: Cavendish
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The Dragons’ Den winner took revenge on Lorraine Davies after she refused to pay £6,000 for a favorable ratingCredit: BBC
Fletcher, who earned £100,000 for the BBC show in 2015, ran Equisafety, which makes high-visibility clothing.
But she fell out with employee Mrs Davies in an argument over a musty hotel room.
In an out-of-court settlement, Fletcher had to pay £3,000 in costs plus £3,000 to Ms Davies.
When Ms Davies was offered a job at the horse hospital, Fletcher asked for £6,000 for a good referral.
She wrote a bad one and the offer was withdrawn, Chester Crown Court heard.
Fletcher, of Barnston, Merseyside, admitted blackmail.
Sentencing Fletcher, Judge Michael Leeming told her: “Lorrraine Davies gave a 22-page victim personal statement which she read with great dignity.
“She describes being pushed to the limit and being physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.
“She has lost the opportunity of a career at the University of Liverpool, a job for the rest of her life, which offered her and her family financial security beyond what she had previously known.
“It affected every aspect of her life, her health, her well-being, her confidence, her emotions, her family’s emotions.
“Professional and social lives are also affected.”
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Source: HIS Education